Literature Review

Death is inevitable. Doctors should be prepared to manage it appropriately. MedPageToday, by Gabrielle Kis Bromberg, MD; 3/28/24In preparation for my clinical year, my medical school instructors taught me about the importance of assessing the goals and wishes of patients at the end of life. ... [My Aunt] Daniella shared with my mom and me that she was tired of being so sick and tired of feeling stuck in the hospital's revolving door. So, I asked my aunt the questions I'd just learned in class. "What is most important to you?" "If you were sicker and could not share your own medical wishes, what would you want us to tell your doctors about your goals?" "Would you accept another ICU stay, CPR, a breathing tube?" My mom and I drove home with crystal clear instructions from Daniella. If she got sicker, she wanted to die without prolonged suffering. ... [Months later] Despite many doctors, hospitalizations, a years-long decline, and countless healthcare touch points, no one had asked Daniella how she was faring as her body failed. Why did it require a medical student -- me -- just 4 months into training, to achieve an end of life consistent with her wishes?

Bayada invests $375,000 to train future nurses in Pima County Bayada Communications, 3/26/24 Bayada Home Health Care, a nonprofit, global leader in home health care has granted $375,000 to fund nursing education for at least 15 students in Pima County. Tucson’s Bayada Skilled Nursing office ... is partnering with JobPath, a local nonprofit, to support students pursuing Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) or Registered Nurse (RN) certifications in the greater Tucson area. The grant to JobPath ... will help cover program tuition, books, and other expenses to support those who might otherwise not be able to afford nursing education. 

Home care unionization efforts beginning to tick back up Home Health Care News, by Andrew Donlan; 3/25/24 The home care workforce has traditionally been a tough one to organize. But efforts have ramped up over recent years, leading to more workers opting into unions across the country. Recently, University of Rochester Medicine Home Care (URMHC) workers “overwhelmingly” chose to join a labor union. They aligned themselves with 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, which is one of the largest health care worker unions in the country. 

New Orleans nurses rally before union contract negotiations Healthcare Journal of New Orleans; 3/26/24Nurses rallied on March 25 at University Medical Center (UMC) in New Orleans as they began negotiations on their first union contract with LCMC Health, the hospital’s management. Nurses at UMC made history in December when they overwhelmingly voted to join National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU), becoming the first unionized private-sector hospital in the state of Louisiana and members of the largest nurse’s union in the United States. 

Nurse arrested after morphine, other stolen medical drugs seized in Owensboro14 News WFIE, by Aaron Chatman; 3/26/24 Eight suspects were arrested and facing numerous charges after a massive drug bust in Owensboro. That’s according to the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office, who says they opened an investigation after receiving dozens of tips about a drug trafficking operation at the home of Pamela Bartimus. Deputies say Bartimus was an employee of Hospice & Palliative Care of Western Kentucky and had been stealing medication at her job.

How CoxHealth flattened nurse turnover Becker's Health IT, by Naomi Diaz; 3/22/24 CoxHealth was able to reduce its turnover rate from around 25% to around 11%, which is more than a 50% decrease after its virtual nursing program was able to bring back the passion for its staff members. The Springfield, MO-based health system started its virtual nursing program after it was facing reduced staffing levels after the COVID-19 pandemic.   

Nurse managers' 4-day workweeks: How it's going at Mount Sinai Becker's Clinical Leadership, by Mariah Taylor; updated 3/22/24In fall 2022, New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System launched its four-day workweek program for nurse managers. More than a year later, the program continues to improve staff engagement, satisfaction and has become an important retention strategy, Beth Oliver, DNP, RN, chief nurse executive for the system, told Becker's. Dr. Oliver added, experienced nurse managers play a critically vital role in supporting staff retention and engagement, championing organizational culture, and ensuring quality and safety of patient care.

Nominate an influential clinical executive todayModern Healthcare; 3/20/24 Modern Healthcare is seeking nominations through April 15 for our annual 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives awards. The recognition program recognizes clinical leaders across the industry who are paving the way to better health through their executive responsibilities, leadership qualities, innovative ideas, community service and achievements inside and outside of their organizations. Nominations are open.

AI scribe saves doctors an hour at the keyboard every dayAMA, by Andis Robeznieks; 3/18/24 When a health system rolls out new technology that it insists will make physicians’ lives easier, the announcement is typically met with skepticism. But the use of augmented intelligence (AI)—often called artificial intelligence—has changed that. The Permanente Medical Group’s rollout of ambient AI scribes to reduce documentation burdens has been deemed a success, saving most of the physicians using it an average of one hour a day at the keyboard. ... Refinement of the tool, however, is ongoing. ... For example, one physician mentioned scheduling a patient’s prostate exam, but the AI scribe recorded that the exam had been performed. 

8 likely next in-demand nursing roles, per Tampa General's chief nurse Becker's Clinical Leadership, by Laura Dyrda; 3/15/24 ... "In the next two to three years, the nursing team may require new roles and skills to adapt to the changing healthcare landscape," said Wendi Goodson-Celerin, DNP, APRN, senior vice president and chief nursing executive at Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital. Dr. Goodson-Celerin outlined potential roles and skills that may be in demand over the next two to three years:

Providence Chief Nursing Officer: All hospitals should be using these 3 tools MedCity News, by Katie Adams; 3/19/24 The workforce shortage is especially acute among nurses. There are 193,100 projected job openings per year for nurses in the U.S. between 2022 and 2032, but only 177,400 new nurses are predicted to enter the workforce during that entire 10-year period. That isn’t even enough to fill one year’s worth of the projected job openings. In order for this issue to improve, hospitals must embrace the technology on the market that has been proven to alleviate nurse burnout, said Syl Trepanier, chief nursing officer at Providence, in a recent interview at the ViVE conference in Los Angeles. ...

Amid tense negotiations, Oregon nurses allege patient neglect by PeaceHealth during strike Eugene Register-Guard, by Miranda Cyr; 3/20/24 Tensions between PeaceHealth and Sacred Heart home health and hospice nurses persist, with the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) claiming last week that PeaceHealth neglected patients during the nurses' two-week strike in February. ... ONA has been negotiating a new contract with PeaceHealth for a full year. The last contract expired in April of 2023. Despite 40 negotiation meetings, no agreement has been reached, according to ONA.

Music Therapy intervention to reduce symptom burden in hospice patients: A descriptive study American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Care; by Madison H Estell, Kevin J Whitford, Angela M Ulrich, Brianna E Larsen, Christina Wood, Maureen L Bigelow, Travis J Dockter, Kimberly L Schoonover, Amy J Stelpflug, Jacob J Strand, Monica P Walton, Maria I Lapid; 3/19/24 online ahead of printResults: Patients reported a reduction in symptom severity and emotional distress and an increase in QOL. All patients endorsed satisfaction with music therapy, describing it as particularly beneficial for stress relief, relaxation, spiritual support, emotional support, and well-being. Scores on overall QOL and stress were worse for caregivers.